Bride School: Mary (The Brides of Diamond Springs Ranch 4) by Bella Bowen

Author:Bella Bowen [Bowen, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mrs. Carnegie, Bride School, Ranchers, Spirited Brides, Diamond Springs, Ranch, Western, Victorian, Historical, Forever Love, Frontier, Wyoming, Western Territory, Country, Short Story, Ball Dance, Potential Bride, Replacement, Dancing, Nightmare, Rebel, Identity, Fairy Tale
Goodreads: 25658586
Publisher: LL Muir
Published: 2015-06-02T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Strange. The morning air gave a clear, stinging warning to anyone who dared go outside that day. But there was something else—if not the actual smell of sunshine, then the promise of it. John would bet the farm the sun would appear by noon and he'd be shedding his coat before he ever reached the train for Denver.

He'd already said good-byes to his parents, but he figured hugging his mother one more time wouldn't hurt a thing.

He climbed the steps.

His mother's brow furrowed. “Did you forget something?”

“Yes.” He gathered the small woman into his arms and pulled her tight. “Just thought one more of these would help me stay warm until the sun decides to show up.

He pulled back and she worried at the scarf around his neck. “You promise me you won't freeze to death? Your horse is sound?”

“He's sound, Mother.” He and his father exchanged a look of perfect understanding. A tear appeared on the old man's cheek, but he didn't bother pushing it away.

“Next time, son.”

John nodded. “Next time.”

With a pair of snow shoes secured to the saddle just in case, John set out through town. It was so much easier leaving when he knew for certain he'd be coming back in a matter of months, not years. And when he did return, all the rough memories that had piled up between himself and his father will have melted with the snow. Nothing unpleasant would be waiting for him.

With mothers, a simple embrace could make things right again. But with men, it wasn't so easy. With men, it was all about success. Prove your success, you prove your worth. Well, he'd proven it that morning. And after handing his father nearly a dozen significant orders for leather goods, along with the payment for those goods, he'd proven he wasn't all hat and no cattle. And while his father had been in shock, he'd explained how, after he'd put his tooling talents to work, he'd be collecting the same amount again, on delivery. That his “fiddling” made a saddle worth twice the price, and he had the wits to find people willing to pay for it.

One product. Double the money. Profit for father. Profit for son.

And that was only from a group of men he'd met two days before. One look at John's own saddle, and they'd clamored for a chance to buy the same. Then they'd been like kids in a Boston candy store.

“What else can you do? What else can you do?”

Jack Hermann had been impressed all right. But at the risk of sounding boastful, John had concealed the fact that he'd already done the same business half a dozen times over in the last year using Boston tanners to fill the orders. Putting money in his old man's hand was all the proof he needed to justify nearly every argument they'd ever had. No need to rub salt in old wounds.

Besides, his father might not appreciate that John had purchased from other tanners whether or not the two of them had been on speaking terms.

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